Edge tension relief in elasticized garments



Jan. 14, 1969 J. J. ERTESZEK 3,

EDGE TENSION RELIEF IN ELASTICIZED GARMENTS Filed Feb, 18, 1966 I; 0 1O United States Patent EDGE TENSION RELIEF IN ELASTICIZED GARMENTS Jan J. Erteszek, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Olga Company, Van Nuys, Calif a corporation of California Filed Feb. 18, 1966, Ser. No. 528,493

US. Cl. 128-524 Claims Int. Cl. A41c 1/00 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for the relief of tension and pressure against the body of the wearer, of hemmed elasticized garments having in-turned hem portions which are continuations of the same fabric. Relief of tension and body pressure is accomplished by de-elasticizing the in-turned hem portion.

This invention has to do generally with elasticized garments and the conditioning of elastic fabrics to be used in the making of such garment-s. The invention has particular applicability to the fabrication of elasticized garments in the category of girdles and will be described with reference thereto.

The general purpose of elasticized girdles is to confine the body of the wearer within the stretched confines of the girdles including the waist and leg edges where the elastic fabric has terminal pressural engagement against the wearer by reason of the stretch condition of the fabric. It is advantageous in some girdle constructions, and particularly those to which the present invention applies, to finish the aforementioned edge extents using in-turned herns which are continuations of the elastic girdle fabric. As a consequence the stretch created pressure at the hem is doubled because of the double thickness, and such increased pressure tends to excessively depress the body surfaces so that when worn under tightly or smoothly fitting outer garments, the girdle edge delineations become objectionably visible.

My general object is to provide for and permit the use of conventional elasticized fabrics for girdle and like constructions, in a manner whereby it is made possible to employ in-turned herns as continuations of the same fabric, but without doubled tension effects or the addition of tension consequentially greater than that of a single thickness of the fabric.

The invention contemplates the use of any of the known or conventional woven or knitted elasticized fabrics, which commercially are widely used and known as power net, e.g. Spandex, and inclusive generally of fabrics possessing elasticity by being woven or knitted of rubber or elastic plastic threads or strands. Frequently used at present are fabrics termed elastic nylon, composed of elastic plastic threads coated with nylon. All such fabrics possess a property not commonly employed but which is utilized for the purposes of the present invention, of capacity for becoming de-elasticized by distortion or impairment of the elastic properties of the stretchable rubber or plastic thread components. While the invention is not to be regarded as limited to any particular method or technique for de-elasticizing the fabric, as illustrative, that effect may be achieved by subjecting the fabric to abnormally high temperature, or to heating and pressure, say at around 350 F. or above, depending upon the particular elastomer. Thus in the case of elastic plastic thread fabrics, wherein the elastic threads apparently are thermoplastic in nature, the fabric may be converted by heating to an essentially de-elasticized state, and where the fabric is subjected to both heating and compression, the effect may be not only to de-elasticize but to render the Patented Jan. 14, 1969 "ice fabric considerably smoother than in its normal elastic state.

The invention is predicated upon the concept of selectively de-elasticizing edge portions of the elastic fabric which in the garment are to become edge or hem extents. These extents, having lost their elasticity, retain however such flexibility as is required for conformance to or with the outer fabric, and if desired with increased smoothness. Thus the invention achieves substantially complete relief of any consequentially increased edge pressure of the elasticized fabric, and as a result visible body surface deflections are minimized.

The invention will be further understood with reference to the illustrative embodiments and procedures shown by the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a view showing an illustrative form of elasticized garment, typically a girdle, in the worn condition of the garment;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating diagrammatically one method used to de-elasticize a hem portion of the garment fabric; and

FIG. 4 is a view diagrammatically illustrative of continuous elastic and de-elasticized extents of the fabric.

In FIG. 1 I have illustrated an elasticized girdle 10 with no particularities of construction detals illustrated for the reason that the invention is concerned only with edge or hem portions of the garment which in its worn condition are tensioned about the wearer. Thus the invention is applicable to any of various girdle constructions having either or both leg portions 11 and waistband 12, the edge extents of which are finished with in-turned herns which are continuations of the elasticized garment fabric.

Such fabric is widely and conventionally known and used in making elasticized garments and is made of elastic threads either woven or knitted to afford two direction stretch, i.e. horizontally and vertically as made into a girdle. 1n the past such fabrics have included or been made using rubber threads, but more recently these fabrics have come increasingly to be woven or knitted of plastic elastomeric threads such as plastic threads coated or enclosed in nylon so as to retain their elastic properties. Such threads may be caused to lose their elasticity, at least to a major extent of their normal elastic properties, a condition employed for the purposes of the invention. It is to be understood that the invention contemplates deelasticizing of the normally elastic threads in any suitable manner, of which the later described treatment by heating, or combined heating and pressing, is to be regarded as illustrative though preferred.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the bottom edge portions of the legs 11, and the same applies to the waist 12 if desired, are finished with an in-turned hem 13 which is a continuation of the body fabric and is sewn thereto at 14. Because of the snugness or tightness of the elasticized fabric conformance to the body of the wearer, ordinarily the hem 13 tends to impose doubled resistance to stretch and therefore to cause the hemmed edge extents of the garment to visibly depress the body surfaces against which they bear. In accordance with the invention the hem portions are relieved of their normal capacity for stretch resistance in having become de-elasticized while retaining the desirable utility of edge finishes as continuations of the elasticized body fabric.

Referring to FIG. 3, the body fabric 10, usually before being made into the garment, is subjected along an edge extent 10a corresponding to the hem 13, to heating and preferably also to pressure in any suitable manner as diagrammatically depicted by compression between members or platens 15 and 16 either or both of which may be heated so that the temperature of the hem extent a will become elevated to a degree at which the fabric loses substantially all or the greater amount of its elasticity. Considering all the conventional elasticized fabrics, and particularly those made of plastic elastomers, such deelasticizing will result from heating in the range of about 250 to 450 R, which may be as high as permissible without impairment of the fabric otherwise.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, normally the fabric 10 has a relatively rougher surface condition 17 defined by the woven or knit surface thread configurations. Beyond the extent b of the normal elastic fabric, the hem or edge portion a, corresponding to 10a in FIG. 3, in addition to having become de-elasticized may also have greater surface smoothness at 18 than the normal fabric, by reason of the plastic properties of the elastomeric threads and their capacity to retain flattened or smoothed condition as a result of having been subjected to heat and pressure. Such smoothness of course enhances comfort to the wearer.

In any situation where it might be desired to further decrease tensioning of hemmed edge portion fabric, the de-elasticizing may be extended into the outside fabric as to an extent generally corresponding to and opposite the in-turned hem. In that event the body of the garment would retain its normal elasticized and body confining qualities, with reduced tensioning confined to the hemmed edge portion to the extent required for more comfortable eased tension while retaining close fitting to the wearer.

I claim:

1. A garment formed at least in part of elastic fabric having an outer elastic portion extending to an edge where the same fabric continues as an deelasticized inturned hem adapted to bear against and about a body portion of the wearer, said fabric being elastically resistant to stretch about said body portion at the outside of the de-elasticized hem, said in-turned hem being de-elasticized to reduce bearing pressure and body surface depression resulting from tensioning of said edge portion.

2. A garment according to claim 1, in which said fabric is formed of elastic threads de-elasticized in the hem.

3. A garment according to claim 1, in which the hem has greater surface smoothness than the overlying portion of the fabric.

4. A garment according to claim 1, in which the fabric is formed of elastic threads tie-elasticized in the hem and flattened to increase the smoothness of the hem.

5. A garment according to claim 1, in which the hem is thermally de-elasticized.

6. A garment according to claim 1, in which the garment fabric at the outside of the hem also is locally deelasticized.

7. The method of conditioning elastic fabric to be used in a garment so that an edge portion of the garment has an integral folded hem extent, that includes deelasticizing said hem extent leaving elasticized the remaining edge portion of the fabric.

8. The method of claim 7, that includes the further step of thereafter folding said hem extent against and securing it to the elasticized portion of the fabric.

9. The method of claim 7, in which said hem extent is heated to de-elasticize its fabric.

10. The method of claim 8, in which said hem extent is heated under compression to de-elasticize and increase the smoothness of its fabric.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,794,700 6/1957 Cheney 2872 2,803,013 8/1957 Freiberger l28580 X 3,130,730 4/1964 Zanca 128-556 ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

